| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual to shrub; hairs needle-like, stinging, or rough
Leaves alternate in CA, generally ± pinnately lobed; stipules 0
Inflorescence various
Flower bisexual, radial; sepals generally 5, generally persistent in fruit; petals generally 5, free or fused to each other or to filament tube; stamens 5–many, filaments thread-like to flat, sometimes fused at base or in clusters; petal-like staminodes sometimes present; pistil 1, ovary inferior, chamber generally 1, placentas generally 3, parietal, style 1
Fruit: generally capsule (utricle)
Seeds 1–many
Genera in family: 15 genera, ± 200 species: especially Am (Africa, Pacific)
Reference: [Ernst & Thompson 1963 J Arnold Arbor 44:138–142]
Annual to shrub; hairs generally barbed-rough (smooth)
Leaf linear to ovate, generally ± lobed; basal in rosettes, generally petioled; cauline generally sessile, ± reduced upward
Inflorescence: generally cyme (or flower 1); bract generally 1 per flower, generally green
Flower: sepals lanceolate to deltate, generally persistent; petals 5, free, generally yellow; stamens generally many, ± free, generally unequal, inner filaments generally thread-like; staminodes 0 or 5–many, outer often petal-like; ovary generally cylindric, placentas generally 3, style thread-like, stigma 3-furrowed or -lobed
Fruit generally tapered to base, sometimes curved
Seeds generally many, grain- to prism-like (triangular in X -section), angled, or lenticular and winged (important to identification)
Species in genus: ± 50 species: w US, ± tropical Am
Reference: [Darlington 1934 Ann Missouri Bot Garden 21:103–226]
| Native |
Perennial 15–40 cm
Stems few, 0–many branched, white, peeling
Leaves < 9 cm, ± wavy-dentate; upper clasping
Inflorescence: bract linear to lanceolate, entire
Flower: sepals 4–11 mm, becoming inrolled; petals 7–17 mm; staminodes 5, petal-like, generally 5–8(14) mm; stamens 3–9 mm, outer > inner; style 5–9 mm
Fruit 5–10 mm, 6–11 mm wide, cup-shaped
Seed 2–3.5 mm, lenticular, winged, finely pebbled
Chromosomes: n=11
Ecology: Washes, limestone soils, talus
Elevation: 900–1800 m.
Bioregional distribution: White and Inyo Mountains, Desert Mountains
Distribution outside California: to Utah, w Arizona
Flowering time: May–Jun
Synonyms: M. leucophylla Brandegee misapplied
Plants with non-clasping leaves have been called M. puberula Darl.